As soon as Ulan leaped off the cliff, he displayed a remarkable nimbleness akin to that of a flying squirrel, descending slowly and smoothly to the ground without sustaining any injuries.
Boom!
The impact of his landing caused the snow on the trees to cascade down with a resounding boom. Ulan wiped the snow from his brow and roused Noah by shaking her shoulder, "We've arrived."
With a groggy response of "Eh, eh, eh------", Noah hesitated to climb down until Ulan coaxed her by retrieving his arm from around her waist, "You can come down now."
However, as she stood on her feet, her legs seemed to give way and she slumped to the ground.
"Are you okay?"
"------No, I'm not okay," She said in a weak voice.
Moments later, Noah, who had managed to recover, staggered to her feet and mumbled, "I finally realized why Ulan had to learn basic common sense from Master."
"That's good."
"I'm not complimenting you."
Noah glared at Ulan, who seemed to be proud by her reaction.
Then she got up fully and looked around. The village was getting closer. At least it was worth jumping off the cliff.
"At least we've cut down on the time. Once we find a place to stay in the village, I will teach you the common sense that you lack."
"A lesson is always welcome."
Ulan laughed. Like he was looking forward to it.
Sometime later, the two arrived in the village.
It was a small village. No more than forty people at most.
"Have you ever been here?"
"No. It's my first time in this village. I used to only stop by the villages to the east with Master."
Noah looked around the village.
It felt somehow familiar. She wasn't sure why, but now was not the time to look around the village.
"Let's start with the lodging."
It was a small village, so she was worried that there would be no accommodations, but fortunately, there was one.
A place for herbalists and hunters who cross the mountains to rest for a while. But a new problem arose.
"I'm sorry, but there is only one room."
"Huh? There's only one?"
"The rest are all being used as warehouses."
"Yeah, that's a pain."
Noah frowned.
But the worries didn't last long. A blizzard was coming soon. Noah sighed and nodded, as if in resignation.
"I can't help it. Please give it to us."
"Two silver coins."
"Ugh! Why is it so expensive?!"
"If you don't like it, go somewhere else."
"Ah, I get it! Let's do it with two pieces."
Noah sighed and reached for her pouch.
As she paid the price, Ulan looked at the people in the room without saying a word. Nine men. Although they were of different ages, they all had one thing in common.
Everyone was staring at Noah.
Or, more precisely, the pouch she held out.
Their gaze was fixed on the silver coins that were inside. Seeing those greedy eyes, Ulan narrowed his eyes.
'Are these guys aiming for silver coins?'
The grassland clan did not use the currency.
So their desire for money wasn't that great. But the outside world was different. Money here was more valuable than life, depending on the circumstances.
He'd seen killings happen between parents and children for only a few silver coins.
"Ulan. It's time to go up."
Then Noah spoke to her.
It seems that she'd finished the calculations.
A large tray and two loaves of crusty-looking bread were placed in her hands. Maybe that's tonight's dinner.
clink, clink, clink!
Walking up the creaky wooden stairs, the two arrived at their assigned room.
And at the same time, they wrinkled their faces.
"Ah, this place is a mess."
"I guess it's true they use it for warehouse."
The bed and the floor were covered in a pile of dust.
Noah frowned and pulled out something.
"I'm going to have to clean this up."
"What is it?"
"It's an amulet that changes the direction of the wind."
Noah fluttered the amulets and put them on the window, wall, and near the bed, respectively, and opened the window wide.
"If you place these properly and then use a technique that amplifies the power of wind, you can..."
A turquoise-colored seal was engraved in the air.
Like she just said, it was a technique to amplify the power of the wind. The performance was amazing.
whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
A strong gust of wind quickly blew in, strong enough to blow away dust.
The only problem was that all of the dust rose into the air at once, filling the room with dust.
"cough! cough! Look, as you can see! cough! All the dust! cough! It's going away!"
Noah exhaled a violent cough and explained.
She's smart, but there's a blind spot somewhere. I thought so in my mind. Still, thanks to that, I was able to avoid sleeping on the dust.
"I'll go wash up first, then."
"Okay."
Noah disappeared into the bathroom.
Ulan, who was left alone, sat down on the clean bed and looked at the scenery of the village quietly.
And then.
Suddenly, from the dingy floor, he could hear the sound of people talking on the first floor. At that moment, Ulan instinctively focused his senses on his hearing.
Then, he heard a strange conversation.
'Silver. Barbarians. Slave. Food. Approximately.'
All he could make out were fragmentary words.
However, just listening to this, he got a sense of what the situation was.
Ulan ran his tongue over the hard bread.
A mildly bitter flavor.
He crushed all the bread and threw it under the bed, his face wrinkled. And after a while, Noah emerged from his bath.
"Uh-huh, at least the towel is clean."
Her black hair was damp and she had a more relaxed expression.
"Oh, I made the water warm by magic and there's still some left for you, so you can go and wash up."
"Thanks for the favor," Ulan said, bowing his head.
Ulan rushed through the shower. When he returned, he noticed Noah running around the room, as if she was looking for something.
"Ulan, did you see any bread?"
"I ate it all."
"·················hee."
"I'll give you this instead."
The jerky and cheese he'd brought with him when he left the grasslands.
Perhaps because it was much better food than hard bread, Noah finished the meal with a satisfied face.
The night came quickly.
The sound of a blizzard raging outside the window could be heard. There was nothing to do, so Ulan headed straight to bed.
"I think I'll go to bed now."
"Oh, I'll sleep on the floor."
"Why?"
"Because there's only one bed."
"Even if there is only one, it is spacious."
"No, it's not like that…"
Noah stammered as if in trouble.
Ulan waved a hand in response.
"It's okay, I'm not a bad sleeper."
"Ugh, that's not it."
"Then what is it?"
Noah's ears flushed red at the repeated question. Moments later, she mumbled, fiddling with her pouch.
"Well, even though we are alumni, there is a saying that we, male and female, are equals...."
"Men and women, what?"
"It's saying that it's not healthy for a grown man and woman to sleep in the same bed!"
Noah's face grew redder.
Ulan nodded his head.
"I see, I understand what you mean."
"Huh, I'm glad you finally got it."
When Noah let out a sigh, Ulan patted the bed again.
"Here, lie down next to me."
"You didn't understand anything!"
"Do not worry. No matter how lustful I may be, I won't touch a child."
"······Huh?"
"More than anything else, you are not good enough to receive my seed. So you can sleep in peace. I promise with the honor of a warrior."
I've sworn an oath, so you'll be safe. Ulan thought to himself. On the other hand, Noah, who was dazed, immediately shouted out of absurdity.
"No, no. Wait. uh, Child? Me? Didn't you hear my age?"
"I know a kid when I see one."
After answering like that, Ulan said with a confident face, "You're about eleven, right?"
"No, I'm not! I'm sixteen years old!"
"Hhh? Sixteen?!"
"Yes. I'm the same age as you!"
Noah exclaimed with an angry look on her face.
Ulan, on the other hand, looked startled. He was genuinely surprised, the most surprised he'd been since he'd gotten his second life.
"······Really?"
"Really!"
He repeated, just in case, and it was true.
Ulan's expression quickly hardened and he spoke with a very serious face.
"Have you ever been cursed or something?"
"I didn't catch anything!"
"If it's not a curse, I can't explain it."
"It's not a curse!"
Noah groaned.
After all the commotion died down, Noah made a strong appeal that she was indeed sixteen years old and that she was not cursed.
Sometime after that.
"Whoa, I'm kind of tired."
With a heavy sigh, Noah crawled to the corner of the bed. Then she covered himself with the soft blanket and muttered with a sullen face.
"I'll go to bed first, so Ulando can sleep next to me or on the floor, it's up to him."
"I see."
Ulan lay down on a seat outside.
After that, he raised the senses of his body to the maximum. His hearing, vision, and even his sense of touch became as sharp as a well-honed knife.
He could even hear Noah's heartbeat.
How long had it been?
Ulan spoke suddenly.
"Noah."
"······why?"
A half-sleepy voice returned.
Noah appeared to be drifting off to sleep, but Ulan, for one, didn't mind and broached the question he had been pondering, "I promised not to use violence as much as possible, but what kind of response do you think is appropriate if I'm attacked first?"
"What kind of situation?" she asked in response.
"A situation where my opponent is trying to kill me."
"In that case, you should knock them down and interrogate them about why they attacked you. Knowing why they wants to kill you will give you a sense of closure."
As soon as Noah finished answering, Ulan jumped out of bed.
"I think the same as you."
"No, then why did you ask…"
The moment Noah gave him a dumbfounded look, Ulan stomped on the ground like a flash of light. Then he slammed the door with his fist.
Boom! Thud!
The door shattered with a loud crash.
Noah's eyes widened.
She looked furious and surprised. This was partly due to Ulan's sudden action, but the real reason was different.
"Kuck! Thud!"
That's because Ulan was holding a man's head in a vicious grip. The man groaned in pain and soon collapsed in a puddle of bubbles.
"I think I'll need it soon."
Ulan finished his dry answer.
Ulan then turned his attention to the stairs leading to the first floor. A dozen men, some of them the same ones who had eyed Noah so greedily earlier.
"Damn it! He noticed!"
"Attack him all at once!"
Facing the outpouring of murderous intent, Ulan chuckled, his eyes gleaming like those of a predator staring at its prey.